Standing with Black Life + Upcoming Dates (Newsletter)

#DefendBlackLife #BlackLivesMatter 

The team of From Here & With Wings and Roots are reeling from the murders of George Floyd, Nina Pop, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless others. In the midst of urgent uprisings in defense of Black lives and a pandemic which lays many of the indignities of systemic racism bare, we are called to move towards a different future. 

We stand in solidarity with people across the world rising up. The proliferation of protests during this pandemic both speak to the desperate need for change, and the deep knowing that a more just world is possible.

In this moment, the team of From Here & With Wings and Roots are committed to using our storytelling resources to elevate Black voices and histories, and support Black movements and futures. Investing in racial justice and dismantling state violence are foundational to any vision we have for the future, and are essential for immigrant rights. Building power within and across communities while also disrupting systems that were not designed to serve marginalized people is the way to this future.

This project emerged from from a desire to shift narratives about who is allowed to belong with an anti-racist and intersectional lens. For years, we have used the slogan reimagine belonging as our invitation to envision a society where all of us are treated with dignity and care. We will continue to dig into our own work for racial justice and listen to Black-led organizations for what is needed in this critical moment. We will continue to stand with artists and activists responding to the epidemic of Black people dying at the hands of police. 

There are many ways to take action. Below are some useful resources.

In Solidarity,

The From Here + With Wings and Roots Team

Places to Donate

• Support Organizations Helping #BlackLivesMatter Protestors (includes possibility to donate to a number of critical movement organizations)

• Black Immigrant Collective

• Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)

• List of Minnesota-based organizations compiled by Reclaim the Block

  
  

Bail Funds:

• National Bail Fund Network (directory of community bail funds)

• LGBTQ Freedom Fund

• Split a donation across multiple community bail funds

  
  

Venmo/Paypal your black friends/community members reparations

Ways to Take Action

• Movement for Black Lives Week of Action

• Black Lives Matter Ways to Help Card

• Black Lives Matter (Petition)

• Black Visions Collective (BLVC) & Reclaim the Block (Petition)

• Color of Change (Petition)

• Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) (Petition)

• BYP100

• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

• Anti-Racism Resources for White People

• 26 Ways to Be in the Struggle Beyond the Streets

  
  

Upcoming Dates

June 11-20th - From Here at the HRW Film Festival

We are excited to announce that tickets to From Here’s premiere at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival are selling out fast! The festival will be online from June 11-20th. Tickets are $9 USD and available here!

June 14th 8pm EDT - Live Q&A

In addition to our premiere, the festival will be hosting a free live Q&A on June 14 at 8 pm EST. Please join us as From Here’s director Christina Antonakos-Wallace, protagonists Sonny Singh and Tania Mattos and Grace Meng, a Human Rights Watch Researcher discuss the film and its themes. Register for the Q&A here!